By Don Dunning | March 3, 2011
Part of marketing a real estate listing is posting exterior and/or interior photos of the property online along with other details of the home, including the address, on the Multiple Listing Service, virtual tours, agent and real estate company web sites. Problem is… everything that goes online, stays online… sometimes forever. Not many agents and […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | October 20, 2010
I have received a number of inquires from clients and those who read my newspaper column about a “3.8% ‘sales tax’ on homes sold after 2012.” There are a lot of rumors and much incorrect information going around, especially online. Here is a statement from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.): “Misinformation has been spreading […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 10, 2010
Two recent news bits reinforced my observation that people behave in ways that often can be considered irrational. Item 1: An online story I read last week about a real estate survey that indicated, in today’s market, buyers have a significantly higher opinion of the agent who represents them than sellers have of their agent. […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | July 20, 2010
According to an online real estate article, the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), with 23,000 members, recently “pulled the plug” on a web-based application that allowed consumers to view which agents had the greatest number of listings and/or transactions in a given neighborhood or Zip code. This happened shortly after it was introduced because HAR was overwhelmed by angry communications from its members.
Reading this, you may be thinking that the mediocre or weak agents were trying to prevent progress. Why else would there be such an outcry over a new system designed to provide useful information to the public?
After over 30 years in the business, I understand what is behind the uproar and it gives me an opportunity to revisit this topic.
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